Faora
Faora-Ul is an infamous Kryptonian war criminal (Kryptonian Civil War) and Sub-Commander of the Sword of Rao, serving as second-in-command to her superior officer, General Zod, and was one of the first great enemies of the hero Superman. Together with General Zod, Faora attempted to re-establish Krypton on Earth by bringing about a terraformation apocalypse (in the Black Zero Event), but she was ultimately defeated by Superman and re-imprisoned in the Phantom Zone. Biography Life on Krypton Faora was born on the distant planet Krypton, genetically engineered into the Kryptonian Warrior Guild as a warrior and leader. She was a fiercely dedicated soldier, second-in-command only to General Zod himself, and would soon be known as the "Tigress of Zod", inducing Faora to be feared throughout all of Krypton for her ferocity and bloodthirst . Kryptonian Civil War Alongside General Zod, Faora joined the radical Sword of Rao, and conspired a coup d’état on the planet Krypton, supplanting the ruling Kryptonian Law Council. The Sword of Rao attempted to overthrow the Council and start anew by extinguishing the “unworthy” lineages that had led Krypton and its people to the edge of annihilation. They attacked the Legislation Chamber, where scientist Jor-El was in council with him informing them Krypton was lost and that they had to abandon their planet. Faora threw council members on the floor on Zod’s orders, starting with Lor-Em. As General Zod had Jor-El arrested, Faora and Zod's other loyalists too away the former council members, intending to later execute them. Jor-El escaped, however, stole the Growth Codex, and returned to his home, the House of El Cidadel. Faora then helped Zod chase Jor-El to the Citadel in pursuit. Upon arriving, General Zod engaged Jor-El in hand-to-hand combat, killing him, while Jor's wife Lara launched the Growth Codex off inside their infant son’s starship. The Sapphire Guards forces arrived shortly thereafter and arrested Zod, Faora and the rest of the Sword of Rao. Escape Some time later, Faora and the rest of the Sword of Rao were brought before the now free Kryptonian Law Council. For the crimes of murder and high treason, High Eminence Lor-Em sentenced all of them to 300 cycles of somatic reconditioning inside the Phantom Zone, on board the prison starship Black Zero. They hence were forcibly boarded onto the ship and traveled through the Phantom Zone Projector to their fate. However, Krypton would explode shortly thereafter, with the explosion releasing the Black Zero from the Phantom Zone, leaving Faora, her allies and Kal-El the only Kryptonian survivors. Faora, devastated that her world had blown up (to the point of her uncharacteristically shedding tears), followed her General's plans to find fellow survivors, the Growth Codex, and a new planet (suitable for terraforming into New Krypton). After Kal-El, now grown up, activated a thousands year old Scout Ship it sent a signal throughout space which Black Zero picked up. Knowing they had located Kal-El and the growth codex, they set course for Earth. After Zod sent a message across Earth requesting Kal-El be handed over, Zod sent Faora in a Dropship to pick him up and also the human Lois Lane. Faora fitted Lois with one of their visors so that she would be able to breathe on board the Black Zero. The atmosphere aboard their ship disrupted Kal's powers and he was strapped down and both were subjected to mental torture and probing trying to find the Codex. Lois had without knowing brought aboard Jor-El's AI hologram which helped Lois escape and change the atmosphere aboard the ship. Showdown in Smallville General Zod had rounded up his troops and went to Earth. Landing at the Kent's Farm and confronting Martha Kent, Faora picked her up off the ground using her new powers after Martha refused to disclose the location of Kal-El's ship. Faora threw her down and found Kal's ship hidden beneath the barn as Kal-El returned and tackled her General away. Faora and Nam-Ek went off in pursuit and confronted Kal-El in Smallville. The two quickly outmatched Kal-El with their numbers and pummeled him into the ground and through shop windows. As the military intervened and Nam-Ek dealt with them, Faora tackled Kal-El herself proving her vast fighting experience by easily beating him at the start, though he eventually overpowers her and Nam-Ek due to him having powers not yet obtained by either of them. When a missile hit her, it broke Faora's visor and she and Nam-Ek retreated after being picked up in a Dropship. Black Zero Event General Zod recovered aboard his ship and commanded them to release the World Engine and send the Black Zero to Metropolis where its initiates the gravity beam as Zod goes to retrieve the Scout Ship, which signal brought them to Earth. Faora commands the troops, and soon General Zod returns with the ship as does Kal-El, after destroying the World Engine. Earth military forces begin to attack Black Zero to which Faora begins to deal with them. Aboard a C-17 piloted by Hardy, they have Kal-El's ship and after throwing Lois out of the plane and killing 2 military personnel, Hardy flies the plane directly at Black Zero. Before Faora can get to Hardy, the plane has hit and the Phantom Drive from Kal-El's ship colliding against Black Zero's creates a Phantom Zone energy singularity that begins to suck everything in it's path (including Faora, Nam-Ek, Tor-An, Jax-Ur, Car-Vex, Nadira and Gor) inwards, back into the Phantom Zone. Personality Genetically engineered into the Kryptonian Warrior Guild as a warrior and leader, Faora was a fierce, ruthless, and bloodthirsty psychopathic warrior (more so than even General Zod himself), driven by the need and sadistic pleasure of killing, genetically incapable of feeling empathy toward her enemies . She even promised Superman that for every life he managed to save from the Sword of Rao, that she would see to it that they would kill "a million more." As a result, she was known and feared throughout Krypton as the infamous “Tigress of Zod" . Ironically, while sadistic and bloodthirsty, she shows little to no emotion when killing humans, though this is most likely because Faora is very unimpressed by the relative weakness of humans, and finds killing them to be far too easy to be considered a feat worthy of savoring. However, she notably seems to gloat before attempting to kill Colonel Hardy, claiming that a "good death" (his at her hands) is "its own reward." Faora is also quite vain and fully aware of her exceptional skills, as she is quick to mock the naturally born Kryptonian Superman for his lack of combat skill and sense of morality, since she believes that the latter trait in particular makes him weak and unconfident, giving the genetically engineered Faora an "evolutionary advantage" over him. Hence, this great amount of confidence in her own abilities allowed Faora to reach her full potential as soon as she was exposed to Earth's yellow sun, and not experience the weakness of mental power suppression. However, she could at times be overconfident, which allowed Superman to ultimately defeat Faora, by catching her off-guard and promptly exploiting her temporary weakness of overloaded senses. However, while the thinking boundaries programmed into Faora's engineered DNA did allow her to be an extremely formidable warrior and leader, they also induced Faora to have a poor grasp at free will. Indeed, Faora is often be prone to dogmatic tunnel vision, and is utterly unable to live out any lifestyle other than the one that she was born for. As a result, she was unable to diplomatically coexist with humanity (like Superman could), or to account for Superman's innovative combat strategy (of effectively using all of the powers that Faora had not yet gained, as well as Faora's weaknesses, against her), which (in addition to her overconfidence) is ultimately what allowed the free willed Superman to overpower Faora, despite being a far less skilled combatant. Notably however, despite her malevolence, ruthlessness and utter disregard for weaker races (such as humans), Faora, much like General Zod, had a great patriotic love for her native planet of Krypton, and uncharacteristically shed tears after witnessing its destruction. Powers and Abilities Powers= *'Kryptonian physiology:' As a Kryptonian, Faora's bone structure is almost identical to that of a human. On a planet near a red class M main-sequence star (like Krypton with its sun Rao), Faora would have physical attributes nearly identical to those of humans, but if on a planet near a yellow G-type main-sequence star (like Earth), she has many new abilities and powers, all of them far beyond the capabilities of humans and even metahumans, making her appear godlike. Due to Faora's ruthlessness and complete lack of restraint, she never witheld her tremendous power, which initially allowed her to dominate Superman (despite the latter's superior solar energy supply). However, Faora notably never did manage to master the powers of heat vision, x-ray vision, and flight. **'Solar battery:' Faora's Kryptonian cells absorb only yellow solar energy and this in turn fuels all of her powers and abilities. Her cells also store solar energy as well, allowing her to retain her powers under roofed structures or even at night, although she eventually needs a yellow sun to recharge her powers. ***'Super strength:' Faora has a tremendous level of superhuman strength, virtually incalculable, as she is able to carry more than 1 million tons. She can generate large shock-waves with her mighty punches, she can effortlessly hurl cars and trucks great distances, shatter concrete, break through thick metal walls and doors with ease, effortlessly overpower numerous human soldiers, and fight evenly against fellow Kryptonian Superman. In fact, Faora was able to hurl him all the way to the other side of Smallville, while her mighty blows were powerful enough to send him flying and visibly hurt him, making him stagger and pant in pain. She was also able to grasp Superman by the neck hard enough to make the latter wince in pain. Together with Nam-Ek, Faora was also able to force Superman back down when the latter tried to fly up into the air. ****'Super leaps:' Faora is able to use her incredible strength to perform super jumps, shown when she leaped into the Kents' barn, and when she almost leaped onto a flying military jet (only to be stopped by Superman just in time). ***'Super stamina': Faora almost never grows tired if she is continuously powered by the yellow sun of Earth. She doesn't need to eat, sleep, or breathe. Hence, she ferociously battled with Superman and numerous human soldiers without ever needing to stop and catch her breath. ***'Super speed': Faora can run and react at incredible supersonic speeds. During her battle in Smallville, she was able to bring down numerous human soldiers before they could even react, and even land many blows onto the equally fast Superman in rapid succession, though the latter was more due to her far superior combat skills. ****'Super reflexes:' Faora's speed seems to extend to her reflexes as well, since she manages to dodge a tackle from the equally fast Superman, and when he first attempted to engage her, Faora caught and deflected all of his blows with ease, countering just as fast. ***'Invulnerability:' Faora's body is incredibly durable, virtually indestructible. Hence, she can withstand massive explosions, exposure to both temperature extremes, falls from great heights, high-caliber bullets, anti-tank depleted uranium rounds, Maverick missiles, plasma bolts from Kryptonian weaponry, Superman's heat vision attack (though it caused her burning pain) and even numerous mighty blows from fellow Kryptonian Superman, remaining unscathed. While Faora can be affected by the considerable force of powerful impacts, they only at most cause her to stumble and briefly knock her down, leaving her unscathed. The only things capable of actually breaking through Faora's invulnerability and harming her are Aquaman's TridentZack Snyder Defends Aquaman’s Honor, Wonder Woman's Godkiller sword, and beings of comparable incalculable strength (such as other Kryptonians and the monster Doomsday), as they are strong enough to physically break though her invulnerability without the need of Kryptonite. ****'Healing factor': Faora, in the rare instances when she is hurt, is capable of healing at superhuman speeds, especially in direct sunlight. However, if the injuries are serious enough to instantly kill her, her healing factor will not be able to save Faora, much like how General Zod was killed after Superman broke his neck. ***'Super vision': Faora has superhuman eyesight far beyond that of humans. She possesses a superior sensory arrangement of telescopic, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray, and gamma ray visual capabilities. She can see the entire electromagnetic spectrum when she desires, through mental focus. However, when her visor first broke open, Faora was initially overwhelmed by her multiple spectrum vision. ****'X-ray vision': Faora, when her visor first broke open, was initially overwhelmed by the sudden intensity of her x-ray vision (which enabled her to see through all objects and people), and was unable to control it. The only known materials known to be impenetrable to Faora's x-ray vision are lead, the force field of a Kryptonian Breather (when rendered opaque) , as well as the Kryptonian metal which the walls of the Fortress of Solitude were composed of . ***'Super hearing:' Faora, when her visor first broke open, was initially overwhelmed by the sudden intensity of her hearing (which enabled her to simultaneously perceive numerous feeble and far noises very clearly, including both infrasound and ulrasound), and was unable to control it. ***'Longevity': Faora, as a Kryptonian under a yellow sun, has a lifespan far greater than that of a human. As such, she doesn't show signs of age as long as the yellow sun is there to empower her. Faora is unaffected by earthly diseases and draws energy from the sun to live, meaning that had Faora stayed on Earth, she would have effectively been an ageless immortal. |-| Abilities= *'Expert combatant:' Faora, as an illustrious member of the Kryptonian Warrior Guild, is a fierce and ruthless combatant, being extremely skilled in a vast array of Kryptonian martial arts, more so than even General Zod himself. Therefore, during the Kryptonian Civil War, Faora was known and feared throughout Krypton as the infamous "Tigress of Zod" Hence, Faora easily gained the upper hand against Superman in a duel, and he was only able to defeat her by managing to break open her visor (and that only by catching her off-guard). Faora might also have some skill in wielding bladed weaponry, since she was about to attack Colonel Hardy with a Kryptonian combat knife. Hence, even without her powers, Faora is still extremely dangerous and absolutely lethal. *'Expert leader:' Faora, as the Sub-Commander of the Sword of Rao and General Zod's second-in-command, is a highly skilled leader, to the point that Zod always trusted her to take his place of leadership when he was forced to attend to other business, such as in the Kryptonian Civil War, when Faora held off the Sapphire Guards' attacks (while Zod engaged Jor-El to get the Codex) and in the Black Zero Event, when Faora protected the Black Zero (while Zod searched for the Fortress of Solitude). *'Intimidation:' Faora commands a fiercely intimidating presence, with the infamous "Tigress of Zod", being known and feared by many throughout Krypton due to her great ferocity and bloodthirst . She also visibly scared the very brave Martha Kent (while briefly interrogating the latter), and even the seasoned Colonel Hardy. Her short temper and lack of restraint made Faora a very fearsome opponent, with only an extreme few, like Superman and Colonel Hardy, being brave enough to pick a straight-up fight with her. *'Indomitable will': Faora, much like General Zod, has an immense determination and strength of will, which, in addition to her bloodlust, makes her an extremely formidable opponent, with Faora despising the mere idea of loosing a fight or battle . As a result, it was only upon Zod's orders that she stood down and surrendered to the Sapphire Guards, as the Kryptonian Civil War was lost. Later however, when helpless and at the mercy of High Eminence Lor-Em, Faora stood in silent defiance while being frozen into a cryocapsule, expressing no remorse for her malevolent war crimes. Later, when defeated by Superman, Faora still refused to yield, defiantly proclaiming that she would see to it that millions of humans would be wiped out in retaliation. |-| Weaknesses= *'Kryptonite:' Faora's greatest weakness is this radioactive green xenomineral from Krypton, as it is extremely deadly to her. Kryptonite exposure makes Faora instantly lose her powers and invulnerability, and induces sickness symptoms in her, which collectively weakens Faora to almost human levels, to the point that she can be relatively quickly incapacitated, defeated, and even killed by an opponent as strong as the heavily armored Batman, if the latter is wielding a Kryptonite weapon. In addition, wounds inflicted by Kryptonite will not vanish after the mineral is removed from proximity to her (making Faora unable to regain full power even after her superpowers subsequently return), and they will only heal upon Faora being directly exposed to yellow solar radiation. *'Limited free will:' Faora's greatest psychological weakness comes from her having been genetically engineered in a Genesis Chamber (for the Kryptonian Warrior Guild), with thinking boundaries programmed into her engineered DNA. As a result, Faora has a poor grasp at free will, is often prone to dogmatic tunnel vision, and is utterly unable to live out any lifestyle other than the one that she was born for. While these thinking boundaries did allow Faora to be an extremely formidable warrior (as she genetically lacked empathy toward her enemies ) and leader, they also made her unable to diplomatically coexist with humanity (like Superman could), or to account for Superman's innovative combat strategy (of effectively using all of the powers that Faora had not yet gained, as well as Faora's weaknesses, against her). Indeed, this is what allowed the free willed Superman to overpower Faora, despite being a far less skilled combatant. *'Red sun radiation:' Faora is robbed of the powers that she gains under a yellow G-type main-sequence star when exposed to the radiation of a red class M main-sequence star. Because of this, any environment filled with red sun radiation (such as Krypton with its sun Rao) will render her to human levels. *'Kryptonian atmospherics:' Faora, when breathing in an atmosphere, the composition of which is identical to that which was once on Krypton, and remaining in an environment shielded from any solar radiation (such as the interior of her Black Zero), is induced to lose access to her stores of solar energy, which, in turn, renders Faora to human levels. Kryptonian air will not, however, have such an effect on Faora when she is in an environment full of yellow solar radiation, as she still had access to her powers on Earth while wearing a Breather with Kryptonian air. *'Sensory overload:' As Faora has superhuman senses, her brain can be overwhelmed by the information it takes in. Though she can gradually learn to hone her senses in time, an attack on her sight and/or hearing can briefly stun and greatly weaken Faora, to the point that a direct hit from a missile was enough to knock a weakened Faora unconscious. While she compensates for this quite well by wearing a Kryptonian Breather, it was ultimately broken open by Superman in their duel. *'Beings of equal power:' Faora, when fighting beings of comparable incalculable might, such as other Kryptonians and the monster Doomsday, is more vulnerable, as they can generate enough force to knock out, injure and even kill Faora, breaking through her invulnerability without the need of Kryptonite, much like how Superman was able to kill General Zod by breaking the latter's otherwise invulnerable neck. It does, however, still take quite a bit of effort on their part to do this though, as Faora was able to withstand a numerous tremendously mighty blows from Superman, which, while visibly very painful to Faora, left her almost unscathed afterwards. |-| Equipment= *'Combat knife': Faora always had a traditional Kryptonian combat knife by her side, with her intending to kill Colonel Hardy with it. *'Battle Armor:' Faora, as a Warrior Guild member, was hardly ever seen not wearing a suit of extremely durable and fiercely intimidating Kryptonian battle armor, equipped with a Breather. *'Kryptonian dropship:' Faora has her own personal Kryptonian dropship, in which she flies down to Earth, first to collect the surrendered Superman, and then to interrogate Martha Kent. *'Kryptonian Plasma Rifle (Formerly):' Faora wielded a Kryptonian plasma rifle while helping General Zod overthrow the Kryptonian Law Council, though it was ultimately confiscated by the Sapphire Guards. Relationships Allies *Sword of Rao **General Zod † - leader **Tor-An - hatchet man **Nam-Ek - strongest soldier **Jax-Ur - leading scientist **Car-Vex - warden on the holding cells **Dev-Em **Commander Gor Enemies *House of El **Superman † - archnemesis **Jor-El † *Kryptonian Law Council **High Eminence Lor-Em † - prisoner turned jailer **Ro-Zar † *Kryptonian Warrior Guild - allies and subordinates turned enemies. **Sapphire Guards † *Earth **Lois Lane - former prisoner **Colonel Nathan Hardy † - attempted victim **Martha Kent - interrogatee and intended victim **Dr. Emil Hamilton † **General Calvin Swanwick Trivia *Faora is the first fellow living Kryptonian that Superman meets, as well as the first enemy that he ever engages in a straight-up physical fight. Behind the scenes *In the DC Comics universe, Faora has sometimes been depicted as the wife or lover of General Zod. *Diane Kruger, Rosamund Pike, Alice Eve and Lindsay Lohan were considered for the role of Faora before Antje Traue was cast. *Gal Gadot, who would later portray Wonder Woman, was offered the role of a villain in Man of Steel, presumed to be Faora, but turned it down due to pregnancy at the time.[http://batman-news.com/2015/09/17/gal-gadot-man-of-steel-faora/ Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman because she turned down a major ‘Man of Steel’ role - Batman-News] References Category:Man of Steel characters Category:Kryptonians Category:Villains Category:Martial Artists Category:Supporting characters